In his latest podcast, “Weekly Show,” Jon Stewart launched a scathing attack on news outlets like CNN and NBC, claiming that these “organizations that rely on access and transparency refuse to let their reporters on screen.” [this] Podcast and talk about the issues of the day.
“Weekly Show” producer Brittany Mehmedovic spoke about the difficulty of booking guests for the podcast, saying, “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen really” in her decade in journalism. “Phone calls are not returned,” she said, referring to NBC. “It’s like, ‘We’re going to politely decline this.’”
Stewart said individual reporters told him they would “love” to do the podcast but needed “network approval,” which they say never came. When The Weekly Show team sought an explanation from the news organization, Stewart and company allegedly “left the reading.”
“I just want people at home to digest this for a moment,” Stewart said on the July 25 episode. “News organizations refuse to ask why their reporters aren’t allowed in, or restricted, or even able to go on a stupid podcast and give their opinion. Even as a promotional tool for either the reporter or the organizations they work for.”
“I once heard a wise man say that democracy dies in darkness,” he continued. “But how can a news organization not feel ashamed and puzzled when the very obfuscation tactics it criticizes are used by politicians and public figures?”
“The Weekly Show” senior producer Lauren Walker offered a possible explanation, saying, “I imagine that [the news organizations] “They feel a kind of ownership over these journalists who pay them… Maybe they don’t want their ideas published anywhere else. Or maybe it seems like you’re biased, and they want to avoid you.”
CNN “gave us a lot of crap for trying to bring someone in,” Stewart said.
“It’s a senseless hoax, and I think it’s an embarrassment to these news organizations. What’s crazy to me is that the journalists themselves think it’s a hoax. It shows the fundamental disconnect between the people who run these organizations and what these organizations are supposed to be there for, which is to inform the public about the issues of the day… It’s just absolute bullshit.”
It's worth noting that Stewart recently hosted CNN commentator Bakari Sellers on the July 11 episode of “The Weekly Show,” where they discussed the Democratic Party's path forward, ahead of Joe Biden's withdrawal from the 2024 race.
diverse I have reached out to spokespeople for CNN and NBC for comment.
Listen to Stewart's comments at the beginning of the video below.
